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Protests and demonstrations continued nationwide Saturday following the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, 37, by police in Baton Rouge on Tuesday and the death of Philando Castile, 32, on Wednesday night in a St. Paul, Minnesota suburb, cities which both saw heated protests on Saturday.

Scores of protesters were arrested after shutting down main arteries in a number of U.S. cities, with some demonstrations morphing into violent confrontations with police.

President Barack Obama called Sunday for greater tolerance, respect and understanding from police officers toward the people they take an oath to protect as well as from individuals who think the police are too heavy handed and intolerant, particularly toward people of color.

"I'd like all sides to listen to each other," Obama said as he answered a reporter's question after meeting with Spain's acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, during his shortened first visit to Spain as president.

Protesters Shut Down Interstate Near Downtown St. Paul

Minnesota Police used smoke bombs to clear more than 200 protesters blocking Interstate 94, the main highway in and out of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. (Published Sunday, July 10, 2016)

It was the fourth straight day that Obama has commented on a series of distressing events back home.

State police spokesman Doug Cain says about a dozen people were arrested Sunday night in Baton Rouge, which has seen a long weekend of protests against the police killing of a black man last week.

Charges were not immediately clear.

Hundreds Take to NYC Streets for 3rd Day of Protests

Hundreds of people took to the streets of New York City Saturday for the third consecutive day of protests against the police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota. Michael George has the story. (Published Sunday, July 10, 2016)

A crowd of about 200 protesters shouted "No justice, no peace!" as officers in helmets and other tactical gear watched from the other side of a street near Interstate 110.

About a block away, dozens of law enforcement officers and nearly 30 police vehicles assembled near an underpass, shutting down Government Street.

On Saturday, prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson and three reporters were among 99 people arrested during demonstrations in Baton Rouge.

Mckesson, who live-streamed his arrest on Periscope, was walking alongside Airline Highway when he was detained.

A police officer appears to tell Mckesson, who was walking on the shoulder of the road, that he'd been "flagged" for walking on the highway, NBC News reported.

"You with them loud shoes, I see you on the road. If I get close to you you're going to jail. You better keep walking."

Protesters were demonstrating against the shooting death Tuesday of 37-year-old Alton Sterling.

Mckesson was released early Sunday morning. He and fellow protesters were charged with "simple obstruction of highway commerce," according to court records from East Baton Rouge Parish Jail.

MINNESOTA

Police used smoke bombs to clear demonstrators blocking Interstate 94 in St. Paul during a protest sparked by the recent police killings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana.

The smoke was used just after midnight Saturday when about 200 protesters were in the roadway as police in riot gear slowly moved in.

Authorities say 21 St. Paul officers and six state troopers sustained non-serious injuries when hit by rocks, firecrackers and bottles thrown by protesters. More than 100 people were arrested in Saint Paul, police said.

A leader on a loudspeaker urged the group to march to the governor's mansion, where protesters have gathered since the fatal police shooting Wednesday night of Philando Castile. The 32-year-old black man was shot during a traffic stop in suburban St. Paul.

NEW YORK

Hundreds of people have marched in New York City for the third consecutive day to protest police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota.

The protesters chanted "Black lives matter" and "No justice, no peace" as they marched through Manhattan on Saturday. As many as 1,000 people joined the protest, but many left when it started raining.

Police officers marched alongside the protesters and tried to keep them on the sidewalk. A police spokesman said there were at least 20 arrests.

Protester Cynthia Howell said she is not against the police but she wants to see accountability.

Howell is a niece of Alberta Spruill, who died of a heart attack in 2003 after police threw a concussion grenade into her Harlem apartment.

Howell said officers who do "reckless, dangerous things" must be held accountable.

Angry protesters in Philadelphia marched to two police precincts in the northern part of the city, facing off with police officers who kept calm as demonstrators shouted slogans and sometimes taunted them.

Hundreds of people took part in Saturday's six-hour march, which attracted a multiracial, multi-ethnic crowd upset over the fatal shooting of black men. They sought to shut down police activity and traffic in the precincts as part of what they proclaimed a "weekend of rage."

Protesters yelled expletives at police standing outside the district building, NBC affiliate WCAU reported. Police said no arrests were made in connection to Saturday's protests.

"The police kill people, they're killing us and I think yelling at the police is a way to get out some of our aggression," said Ariel Taylor, one of the protesters.

In Pittsburgh Saturday, several hundred people broke off from the city's 200th anniversary parade to protest recent police shootings across the country. Some were affiliated with Black Lives Matter.

They marched from Point State Park on Saturday afternoon to the county courthouse.

The California Highway Patrol closed access to the bridge at least two times Saturday afternoon when protesters took over freeway ramps, causing traffic to back up.

The group began marching from the city's Hall of Justice to the downtown shopping area, causing a temporary shutdown of a popular mall as the crowd gathered there to chant slogans and make speeches.

In central California, several hundred protesters blocked several intersections as they marched against police brutality in central Fresno. Officers in riot gear blocked an on-ramp to keep the protesters from entering State Route 41.

ILLINOIS

In Chicago, hundreds of protesters attempted to shut down the Taste of Chicago food festival in an event dubbed "No Justice, No Revenue," according to the event's Facebook description.

"The Taste of Chicago Shutdown" took place around 5 p.m. ET, with many of the demonstrators staging a die-in.

Protesters continued to march through downtown Chicago, staging sit-ins and blocking traffic at multiple locations near Grant Park and Millennium Park. Police said 14 people were arrested.

FLORIDA

Hundreds of people marched in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale as part of the Black Lives Matter movement in demonstrations that ended peacefully.

Protesters in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday chanted "No justice, no peace" and "Hands up, don't shoot." At one point the protest stopped outside a Broward County jail and prisoners banged on windows in support.

The demonstrations came after police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota, and the deadly sniper attack on police officers in Dallas.

A Palm Beach Post reporter tweeted a photo of a protester shaking a police officer's hand as the West Palm Beach protest disbursed.

A third protest was planned in Miami on Saturday evening.

RHODE ISLAND

More than 150 people gathered in downtown Newport in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after a week of violence across the nation.

The Providence Journal reports the group marched on Saturday afternoon to call for changes after the police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota this week.

Speakers urged the crowd to get involved in grassroots efforts to improve law enforcement across the country.

Seneca Pender of Middletown organized the rally. He told the crowd that the senseless killings of black people "have to stop."

Pender also thanked law enforcement officers who provided security at the rally in Newport and denounced the deadly attack Thursday on police officers at a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas that left five officers dead.

COLORADO

Black Lives Matter supporters said they plan to continue a sit-in in Denver in response to the police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana through Tuesday for a total of 135 hours. That's an hour for each of the black people they say have been killed by police across the country this year.

The gathering, across from the City and County Building, began Thursday afternoon, several hours before police officers were killed in Dallas.

People have been dropping off food and water for those camped out on chairs and blankets in Civic Center Park.

UTAH

Protesters who support the Black Lives Matter movement rallied in Salt Lake City, with some saying they grieved both the losses of the black men in Louisiana and Minnesota and fallen Dallas police officers.

"The answer to guns is not more guns," said Deyvid Morales, who directed the protest Saturday, told the Salt Lake Tribune (http://bit.ly/29vvYAl.) "The answer to stop this violence is to peacefully talk things out, to come together as a community. ... We just want peace."

Two black women and one Latina spoke at the rally, expressing fear for loved ones and themselves in dealings with police.

"It's terrifying to be the mother of a black child," Jessica Lee said. "Speaking from personal experience, it is terrifying to know that next year my son is going to be out driving, so I constantly have to grill him on things — what to say, what not to say."

The protesters included Carl Moore of Orem. He did a dance in traditional Native American clothing. The dance was a tribute to the human race, he said.

"When I see this 'All Lives Matter,' what it does is it dilutes the situation," Moore said. "What we're doing right now is Black Lives Matter."